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Month: August 2015

An afternoon of bottling! That’s 2 gallons each of apple and sparkling dandelion. The apple may have been a little premature– it hadn’t really fully cleared yet (though it’s hard to tell with the Fast Ferment, which is opaque), but I wanted the fermenter clear for the elderberry I plan to make next week. This was a 2-gallon batch, and is my first use of the reusable corks. The corks are plastic– you can see them in this photo– and you just push them into the bottles, which is a little less satisfying (and also feels less secure) than using the corker, but is also more economical, providing I get the corks back.

The dandelion is a double batch, too, and I fermented them in the glass carboys, like last year. One spent more time in the light, and is a lighter color because of that. I sparkled them with a half-cup of simple syrup in each and then bottled right away. I was a little nervous about putting in the Champagne corks, but they were fine. I used a small hammer with a kitchen cloth draped over the corks. With the added simple syrup, I got a satisfying 10 bottles. At some point, I’ll have to figure out the wire cages for the corks, which I presume will include pliers and swearing.